Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Movie Review

Intro

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the newest chapter in the Star Wars Saga, and the sequel to 1983’s Return of the Jedi. Director J.J. Abrams had the impossible task to recapture the magic and excitement of the original Star Wars trilogy, so did he succeed?

Positive

In short, yes! The Force Awakens successfully launches a whole new generation of Star Wars fans, while also paying homage and respect to the original fans and characters.

Let’s talk about the new characters first. Daisy Ridley truly surprised me with her amazing and complex performance as Rey, a scavenger on the planet Jakku. Her character had the most depth, but also just the right amount of charm, toughness & emotion. John Boyega as Finn was another highlight, he plays a conflicted Stormtrooper who doesn’t know his place in life, and wants to discover a life beyond the First Order. This unique spin to his character made him interesting to watch, and showed us something we didn’t see before in a Star Wars movie. But hero’s can only be as good as their villains, and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren was flat out amazing! Kylo Ren in this movie is a dark complex character, mostly in battle with himself, as he doesn’t know if he wants to commit to the dark side, or follow the touches of the light side he still feels inside of him. The best part about Kylo Ren was that he wasn’t your clichéd villain who wants to destroy the world, he had layers to him and was just as human and fleshed out as our main heroes.

And of course our old heroes Han Solo, Chewbacca, how where they? Well nothing has changed in all these years, seeing Han Solo and Chewbacca together after almost 30 years was astonishing to say the least. They still have the same chemistry together, and play an important part in the story. Luke Skywalker’s part in the movie has always been a secret, so I won’t spoil it here, all I can say is good job!

Negative

First of all, Director J.J. Abrams has stated he wanted to take inspiration from the original Star Wars trilogy, in particular A New Hope. And I do think this movie has to many familiar beats in terms of storytelling. A good amount of storytelling is very much the same as A New Hope. Now does this compromise the overall experience? I don’t necessarily think so, it didn’t bother me that much personally, but it might bother other people so it had to be said.

Conclusion

In short, J.J. Abrams did an amazing job breathing new life into the Star Wars Saga. If you enjoyed the original trilogy, this movie is definitely for you. As soon as this movie ends, you’ll be waiting for Episode VIII with very high expectations!